PowerBar

by PowerBar

1986 – 2023 GONE FOREVER

Gone from American shelves since the end of 2023 — a death that exists mainly as a line in an SEC filing. Europe still gets it; powerbar.com now speaks German.

Last verified Nov 7, 2026

Olympic-trials marathoner Brian Maxwell launched PowerBar from Berkeley in 1986 with $55,000, selling chewy fuel to runners years before "energy bar" was a supermarket aisle. By 2023 the pioneer was an afterthought in its own category.

🧾 One more thingNestlé paid $375 million for PowerBar in 2000. When BellRing Brands killed the North American business in late 2023, its SEC filings put annual US sales at $7.7 million.

Filed under: Snacks & Chips · the ’80s

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📅 Timeline

1986Olympic-trials marathoner Brian Maxwell launches PowerBar in Berkeley, California with $55,000.
2000Nestlé buys PowerBar for $375 million.
2014Post Holdings acquires PowerBar from Nestlé.
2023November — BellRing Brands tells the SEC it is discontinuing the North American PowerBar business, winding down by December 31; US sales had fallen to $7.7 million a year.

❓ People also ask

Is PowerBar discontinued?

In North America, yes — BellRing Brands wound it down at the end of 2023, stating the exit plainly in its SEC filings. The brand continues in Europe.

Who invented the PowerBar?

Marathoner Brian Maxwell, who started the company in Berkeley in 1986 with $55,000 and sold athletes on portable fuel years before energy bars were a supermarket category.

🧾 Sources

SEC EDGAR, BellRing Brands Q4 FY2023 results (8-K): PowerBar North America discontinuation (2023)
Food Business News, Post buys PowerBar (2014)
Canadian Running Magazine, Raising the (Power)Bar: the Brian Maxwell story (2010)

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